WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — He's got plenty of gay friends, he says, no matter his stance on gay marriage.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said gay marriage is akin to alcohol and profanity — options the Republican weighing a 2016 presidential bid said are appealing to others, but not to him.

“People can be my friends who have a lifestyle that are not necessarily my lifestyle,” Huckabee told CNN's "State of the Union." “I don’t shut people out of my life because they have a different point of view.”

"I don't drink alcohol but a lot of my friends, gosh, maybe most of them do," he said as an example, before citing swearing and ballet as other instances of people engaging in activities he doesn't like without forfeiting his friendship.

Huckabee on Sunday also said that forcing people of faith to accept gay marriage as policy is on par with telling Jews that they must serve "bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli." That dish would run afoul of kosher rules.

Huckabee said he appreciates different viewpoints on gay marriage, adding that he is friends with gay people.

Watch the clip below:

Huckabee has made cultural issues the cornerstone of his likely presidential bid. The former Baptist pastor is counting on social conservatives and evangelicals who have great clout in early nominating Iowa to help his bid.

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